Oil major ExxonMobil has started drilling at the Bulletwood-1 well site on the Canje Block located offshore Guyana.
Westmount Energy, an indirect partner in the Canje Block, cited a statement by the Maritime Administration Department of Guyana from 1 January 2021 that the Stena Carron drillship arrived on location of the well and has started drilling operations.
Westmount owns an indirect interest in the Canje Block as a result of its 7.2 per cent interest in the issued share capital of JHI Associates.
The Canje Block is operated by ExxonMobil which holds 35 per cent. Its partners are Total with 35 per cent, JHI with a 17.5 per cent stake, and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas with 12.5 per cent.
According to Westmount, Bulletwood-1 is a 500 mmbbl oil prospect targeting a Liza look-alike, confined channel complex, of Late Cretaceous, Campanian, age.
Liza is an oilfield found by Exxon in the prolific Stabroek block offshore Guyana. The first phase of Liza development has been in production since December 2019.
The Maritime Administration Department said in its statement that drilling operations at Bulletwood-1 were scheduled to be completed on or before 23 February 2021.
Westwood noted that JHI was carried for the drilling of up to four wells, including Bulletwood-1, and was funded for the drilling of additional wells as a result of a 2018 farm-out to Total.
Gerard Walsh , chairman of Westmount Energy, said: “ Bulletwood-1 is the first well in a multi-well, fully funded, drilling campaign being operated by ExxonMobil on the Canje Block over the next six months or so.
“ This campaign will evaluate high impact Upper Cretaceous prospects in the proven Liza play fairway with, in some cases, additional deeper reservoir targets.
“ It also provides Westmount shareholders exposure to a portfolio of drilling outcomes over a compressed timeframe. Success from some of the wells in this portfolio could result in transformational value changes for Westmount “.
It is worth reminding that ExxonMobil used the Stena Carron to drill at the Tanager-1 well offshore Guyana in November 2020.
ExxonMobil’s previous Guyana wells were drilled in the Stabroek offshore block, which discovered more than 8 billion barrels of oil. Unlike them, the Tanager-1 well was drilled in the nearby Kaieteur block and was deemed as a non-commercial discovery.